


Your Spice in my Life

by Frooster



Series: Utter Satiety [2]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Hwang Hyunjin is Whipped, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Lee Felix (Stray Kids) is Whipped, Lee Felix (Stray Kids) is a Sweetheart, Living Together, M/M, Minor Character Death, Not Beta Read, Panic Attacks, Petty Arguments, Vomiting, We Die Like Men, but i guess the hyunlix agenda never sleeps either, its 1am again, only briefly mentioned though!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:21:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21857503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frooster/pseuds/Frooster
Summary: In a world where you can taste everything your soulmate can, what happens when you share absolutely none of the same tastes as your soulmate?AKA Hyunlix live with eachother ft. a petty argument, a trip to Frozen 2, and peppermints.
Relationships: Hwang Hyunjin/Lee Felix
Series: Utter Satiety [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1574503
Comments: 14
Kudos: 199





	Your Spice in my Life

**Author's Note:**

  * For [halfmoonjisung](https://archiveofourown.org/users/halfmoonjisung/gifts).



> This fic is part of a series, but it can be read as a standalone. If you want a little more information on the type of soulmate au this is, I recommend reading [this fic](archiveofourown.org/works/19075660) first.
> 
> Also please be careful reading this! The first two scenes have nothing graphic in them, but the third scene (told apart by ~~~) includes a minor panic attack and some hurt/comfort elements. If you don't feel comfortable with that sort of thing, please don't read

“What popcorn should we get?” Felix asked, gazing with wide eyes at the display they had outside of the theatre. 

“Don’t they just have buttery popcorn?” Hyunjin asked, distractedly digging in his pocket, trying to find the tickets for Frozen 2. 

“Apparently they’re doing a promotional deal,” Felix replied, and Hyunjin could tell just by his tone that he wasn’t going to get out of the movie without some contrived and probably completely artificial flavor forced down his throat, courtesy of his ever-curious soulmate. 

Sure enough, Felix’s excited gasp and, “Jinnie! They have curry popcorn!” made Hyunjin’s stomach curl, but he couldn’t help his heart from swelling when he looked at the way Felix pressed his hands to the glass. He  _ knew  _ that he was going to end up agreeing with whatever the younger selected. It wasn’t  _ his _ fault he had no backbone against his boyfriend, Felix would just be so happy to try something new, and Hyunjin would never  _ ever  _ do anything to make the younger upset if he could help it. 

It wasn’t like he was  _ ungrateful  _ to be in that situation. In fact, he was very happy to have found his soulmate, moved in with him, and managed to not kill the other, all before he had turned 21. This was a feat that most people wouldn’t manage, and he was no one to sneeze at that. 

However, there was something to be desired when looking at taste compatibility for the two. Most soulmates have similar tastes, they won’t like Mexican food, or they’ll only prefer certain types of greens -- any number of food coincidences that line up to make them happy to eat around one another. That couldn’t be further from the truth for him and Felix. Felix preferred spicy food, Hyunjin sweet. Felix didn’t like chewy textures, rough/crunch things irritated Hyunjin’s gums. Felix  _ hated  _ tea or coffee with any flavoring in it at all, that was the only way Hyunjin could drink it. Don’t even get him  _ started  _ on the arguments about boba tea. (“Chewing your drink is just  _ wrong,  _ Jinnie. You don’t see me chewing my milk!” “But how do you explain snow cones, Lix? It’s the exact same principle.”) Nothing about what they ate made any sense for them, but they had somehow lasted 6 months without killing each other. 

“Do they have anything  _ other  _ than curry? Maybe a ranch popcorn or something a little tamer?” Hyunjin asked, knowing that he probably wouldn’t be able to sway Felix from a popcorn once he set his mind on one, but it was worth the shot anyway. 

“The only other one they had that looked good was this jalapeño ranch corn, but I know you don’t really like spicy things, and I figured since it was curry, maybe they mellowed it out with something!” Felix turned to look at Hyunjin, and he knew he was going to have to fight. He loved curry, but he knew that there was no way the type of curry  _ he  _ liked would be the type of curry flavoring they put in the bag. 

“I’d rather try the ranch corn. That way it won’t contradict with the M&Ms we’re getting.” Hyunjin looked Felix to see him nodding along, and the younger moved away to get the corn that they wanted. While he did that, Hyunjin finally found the tickets he had been looking for and presented them to the worker who had been watching the entire exchange with an amused smile on his face. 

“Can’t handle spicy things?” He asked, accepting the tickets and scanning them.

“Don’t tell my soulmate, but the only reason I even pretend to tolerate it is because I like how red his cheeks get when he accidentally eats too much spicy food.” Hyunjin’s face softened as he imagined Felix panting and desperately reaching for the emergency milk he would keep at their table for when either Hyunjin or himself had had enough. (Hyunjin would never admit it, but even though he didn’t like spicy food, he was forcing himself to get a tolerance to it just so he could see how Felix would blush.) “It’s one of the cutest things I’ve seen from him.”

The worker smiled at him, and then Hyunjin felt Felix’s small hand slide into his own. “You two enjoy the movie,” he said, and Hyunjin grinned, waving his free hand as they made their way to the snack check out. 

As they were checking out their food (the jalapeño ranch popcorn, the M&Ms, a Dr. Pepper and a Sprite, along with a package of Twizzlers for the two to share and a small container of regular butter popcorn for Hyunjin) the attendant glanced at the food and then, with a knowing look she asked, “So I guess you two are just dating before you find your soulmates?” 

“No,” Felix asked, tilting his head, “Why would you say that?” 

“Well it’s just-” She caught herself, then glanced at the snacks again, then their intertwined hands. “It seems to be an odd flavor combination for two people to enjoy.” 

“That’s alright,” Felix said, with a fake smile that made Hyunjin wince from the acidity behind it. “I’m sure one day you’ll find someone who cares about you enough to not judge you for your tastes. Until that day though, please refrain from judging other couples who’ve found the happiness you seem to lack.” Felix turned to look at Hyunjin, and, although his eyes softened a bit looking at Hyunjin’s shocked expression, his voice was still hard when he said, “Babe, I’m going to go ahead and go to our seats. Can you bring the snacks up by yourself?” 

Hyunjin reached a careful hand up and ran his thumb over Felix’s cheek, almost trying to wipe the angry flush off of his face. “Of course, honey, you go on ahead. I’ll meet you in the theater, yeah?” 

Felix briefly leaned into the touch, whispering, “Yeah,” before he pulled away and strode down the hall, looking for their room. 

Hyunjin turned back to the woman who had been ringing up their food, and she looked at him apologetically, handing a bag back with all of their snacks so it was easier for him to carry. “Please apologize to your soulmate,” she said, her eyes sad as she remembered the confrontation. “I didn’t mean to imply anything negative about your relationship, and I genuinely think you two are cute together.” Hyunjin smiled at her and nodded. As he turned to follow Felix to the room, he paused, and glanced back at the worker, noticing the dejected look on her face. 

“I’m sorry for Felix, too,” He began, smiling at her when she looked up at him. “You brushed on a sensitive topic for him, and he lashed out in a way that wasn’t fair to you at all. Thank you for working with us tonight, even if we weren’t the best customers for you.” With those words, he smiled, feeling it grow more genuine when she tentatively returned the smile, and he went down the hallway to the screening. 

When he got to their seats, he handed Felix his popcorn and sat down, immediately forgoing his own seat to join Felix in his. The two fit comfortably, and it allowed Hyunjin to tuck the smaller boy into his side much easier than he would have been able to if he had been sitting adjacent to the boy. 

“Are you okay?” He whispered, reaching into the bag to poke a piece of the popcorn to his soulmate’s lips. 

Felix looked at Hyunjin, carefully pulling the kernel into his mouth and chewing it. Hyunjin felt a tingle from the jalapeno, followed by a surprisingly cool ranch flavor, and he realized the snack may not be as bad as he thought it would. “I’m sorry I snapped at the worker,” Felix replied after he had swallowed the piece. 

“That’s not what I asked,” Hyunjin replied, pulling a piece of the popcorn for himself. “I  _ asked  _ if you were okay? She brushed against the taste thing back there.”   
“I try, Jinnie, I really do-” Felix began, but Hyunjin pushed another piece of popcorn into his mouth to silence him.

“And we’ve been over it. I understand that we have different tastes, but that’s part of what makes us work, Lix. We wouldn’t be us if we didn’t have to compromise on where we ate. I wouldn’t feel the same if I didn’t wake up with that disgusting cinnamon toothpaste you use every day. You and your odd flavors make me happier, and they make me a better person. I wouldn’t be the same person I am today if I hadn’t been forced through the cinnamon challenge all those months ago with you.”

Hyunjin reached up, carefully running his hand through Felix’s hair and feeling his chest swell with such powerful fondness it nearly overwhelmed him. There was no explanation as to why the feelings just hit him. If he had to blame it on anything, it would be the way Felix was looking at him like he was the reason the stars hung themselves in the sky. Maybe it was the equally powerful love he could clearly read in his soulmate’s eyes that triggered his own emotions. Whatever it was, he felt content as he sat back, feeling Felix lean into his side, curling as tight as he could. 

“I love you,” the younger whispered, and Hyunjin smiled, kissing the top of his head.    
“I love you too,” he replied. “Weird tastebuds and all.”

~~~

“I hate you,” Felix growled as Hyunjin stood, brightly smiling from the other side of the cafe counter. 

“No you don’t,” he replied, leaning on the counter and his grin morphing to a smirk. “I’m one of your  _ loyal customers  _ and Minho-hyung would kill you if you drew business away.”   
“That doesn’t mean you have to come in and order…  _ that!”  _ Felix replied. Hyunjin glanced around him, and then lowered his voice when he noticed that their little spat was drawing the attention of the customers. Regardless of how much he wanted to tease his boyfriend, he would rather not evoke Minho’s rage for disrupting the perfect environment he had been trying to create in the store. 

“If I want to order a hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps, you know, the drink that your store is currently promoting and one of the only things on the menu I have yet to try, and I want to get a cherry cheesecake to go with it, then it is  _ your  _ job to serve me, Lee Felix.” Hyunjin paused and tilted his head his grin widening and he pulled his final card. “Or do I need to speak to your manager?” 

“You wouldn’t,” Felix glared at the older, but when he made no move to agree with the other, he sighed and quickly rang up the order. “I don’t understand, Jinnie, why are you getting the spiked hot chocolate? I know you don’t like alcohol that much.”   
“Ah, Minho-hyung asked me to sample it. He wanted to make sure he was using the right blend of the drink to where it was yummy, but not too strong either. Channie-hyung told him it was fine, but you know how hyung gets when it comes to his drinks.” The pair shared a knowing glance over the register before Felix ducked behind the counter to get a slice of the cheesecake for Hyunjin.

When the younger got back, Hyunjin tried to hand Felix some money to cover his purchase, but the bills were batted away before the cake was slid across the table. “I’m not accepting your money,” Felix snapped, pulling out his employee card and swiping it to charge the food. 

“Lix-” Hyunjin began. 

“No, you can save that money and figure out a good way to make it up to me for deliberately eating something you  _ know  _ I don’t like when I’m still in your taste radius.” Hyunjin laughed at the thoroughly put-out expression on Felix’s face, and he moved down the bar to where Felix began making his hot chocolate. 

“Because I’ve never had to deal with something that you like, but I don’t before.”

“It is  _ not  _ my fault you like eating with me and spending time around me.” Felix quipped, carefully stirring the chocolate in with the milk before reaching beneath the counter and splashing what must be the schnapps into the drink. 

“Is there no exact measurement for the schnapps?” Hyunjin asked, watching as the younger moved behind the counter, efficiently making the chocolate much more complicated than he thought it would be. “And is that  _ three  _ different types of chocolate?” 

“For you? There’s actually less than I’m supposed to put in because I know you’re a lightweight who can’t hold his drink, and I actually want to get food with you after my shift and not worry about you wobbling around the entire time talking about how much you love me and Kkami.” Ignoring Hyunjin’s mock-offended gasp, Felix grinned and continued, “But the three different types of chocolate are legit. Minho-hyung wanted something unique for the season that you couldn’t get at another cafe so he spent the last week or so forcing different concoctions of chocolate down my throat to figure out which one had the right combo.”

Hyunjin hummed in understanding and made grabby-hands for the cup when Felix finally topped it with whipped cream. 

“You big baby,” he cooed but gave Hyunjin the cup anyways. Felix then turned to greet the next customer who came through the door and Hyunjin grinned before going to sit down to watch his boyfriend work. 

Felix took the order down for the woman who came in. It seemed she was doing an office run because he nodded along, and then, after ringing her up, called Seungmin out of the back to help him with the order. As the two worked through the order, Hyunjin blew on his coffee, taking a tentative sip every now and then to see if it was cool enough to drink regularly. (He burned his tongue twice, and Felix shot him a nasty glare each time he tried to take a drink too soon.)

Giving up on the hot chocolate for the moment, he carefully pressed his fork into the cheesecake, instead. This cheesecake was one of the reasons he started coming to the cafe in the first place. It was made fresh every time they offered it, and the cherry syrup was made just the right way so that it matched against the more savory cake well, but wasn’t overwhelming. He wasn’t sure why his boyfriend  _ didn’t  _ like the cake, but he knew he liked to come in whenever it was available, and if it meant he could torture his boyfriend by having him taste cherry cheesecake once every two weeks, then that made up for the plenty of times he had to endure any number of odd combinations from the other. 

Hyunjin took his first bite of the cheesecake, and he would have closed his eyes to savor the bite, but he was much more interested in the grimace Felix made the second the dessert entered Hyunjin’s mouth. 

_ That’s right,  _ he thought with vicious satisfaction,  _ this is what you get for not doing the laundry yesterday after I asked you twice to do it.  _

… Okay so maybe Hyunjin’s motivation for coming in to sample for Minho  _ today  _ of all days was a little corrupt, but he does find great joy in seeing the way Felix scrunches his nose each time Hyunjin takes a bite of his cake or sip of his chocolate. As Hyunjin sat and enjoyed his snack, Felix did his best to pretend that Hyunjin wasn’t slowly torturing him with every second he would take to savor how the treat tasted. Instead, he would smile at the customers who came in. Then, while he was making their drink he would shoot Hyunjin the darkest glare he could muster -- which never lasted long because then Hyunjin would beam at him and give him a small wave and Felix was nothing if not whipped, so he would wave back every time, and their game would repeat itself over and over until Hyunjin’s snack was gone.

As Hyunjin finished, he decided to linger for a few more minutes before standing once there was a lull in Felix’s customers. “Hey, Lixie? I’ll be back around 7:00 to meet you for dinner, okay?”

“Sure, Jin. Is there anything else you need before you leave?” Felix held his hand out, and Hyunjin quickly took it, lacing their fingers together over the counter like he had done so many times before. 

“Yeah, tell Minho-hyung that he has nothing to worry about. I think the drink will do well,” Hyunjin smiled when Felix’s face lit up at the news. Minho loved getting reviews from Hyunjin because he knew the younger would be honest, and Hyunjin always made sure to give good reviews through Felix because he knew that Minho would show some form of affection to the other when he got the news. Hyunjin would then receive the same affection back ten-fold when Felix came home to tell him about how Minho had hugged him or patted his head. It was honestly cute the way he would light up any time he got any type of positive reinforcement. He almost reminded Hyunjin of an over-excitable puppy. 

“Alright, hyung, I’ll see you later.” 

“See you later, Lixie. Don’t let work stress you out too much, okay?” Hyunjin reached up and patted Felix’s head, laughing a bit when his boyfriend leaned into the touch before he pulled away, and waved at Felix as he made his way to the door. 

“I love you!” Felix called, and Hyunjin felt blood rush to his cheeks at the confident proclamation. 

Turning back, he waved, and shouted back, “I love you, too!” Because despite how much it would embarrass him, he would always do his best to make sure his soulmate knew how loved he was. Simply because he felt that was the bare minimum he could do for the other. Despite the teasing, despite the griping about what food the other liked to eat, at the end of the day, those were all things that made their relationship work. The last thing he would ever want to do was make Felix doubt his worth. So if that meant shouting “I love you” from a cafe door, then that’s what Hyunjin would do. And he would never regret it. 

~~~

Hyunjin couldn’t breathe. All he could do was stare at his phone. At the one text bubble that seemed to take over his entire life in just a few moments. 

_ Your uncle died a few hours ago. Your aunt is with him now, but she’s not looking good. _

A little known fact about Hyunjin’s family (even if it was only known  _ by  _ his family) was that their soulmate bonds were incredibly strong. They could taste over longer distances, they felt more strongly the closer their soulmate was, and the further away they got the more miserable they would be. The underlying words in the message were “Your uncle died. Your aunt will probably go some time in the next few days. Prepare yourself.” 

Hwang soulmates do everything together. They live, travel, eat, and die together. While he hadn’t been very close to his uncle, he was incredibly close to his aunt. She had picked him up from school every day during the spring semester because his mom never could. She was basically his second mother and here his real mother was, telling him that she would die within the next 48 hours.

_ I can’t believe that. It can’t be true.  _ He stood from where he had been watching anime on the couch and ran to the bathroom as quickly as he could. He felt the bile creeping up in his chest and he barely had time to lock the door before he was heaving over their toilet. 

Hyunjin knew the second Felix realized something was wrong. He had been in their room studying for a major exam that was coming up and he hadn’t wanted the other boy to distract him, so Hyunjin had agreed to go to the living room while he worked.

He felt a brief strike of guilt, knowing that the reason Felix was alerted was because of the awful taste that was lingering at the back of his throat. Knew that when he heard Felix run down the hall and slam into the bathroom door, not expecting it to be locked, it would stress his soulmate out more than he deserved. 

But he also knew that if he saw Felix right now, he wouldn’t be responsible for his own actions. Logically, if he opened the door, if he let Felix in, the other would comfort him. He would give him a shoulder to cry on and something to hold. Something to reassure himself that his world would be okay. 

“Hyunie?” Felix said through the door. Just one word. One. Word. And Hyunjin collapsed. Even if he wanted to let Felix in now, he couldn’t. He wouldn’t be able to face the other. He knew he wouldn’t have to be strong but he was just so  _ weak  _ right now. Why would Felix want that?

“I- I can’t, Lix,” he gasped out. Hyunjin crawled on the floor and he pressed his forehead to the door, trying to get as close to the other as he could without allowing him to see the mess he actually was. 

“She’s gone,” he whispered, and he wasn’t even sure if the other boy could hear him through the door, but he heard Felix slowly slide down the door until he must have been at the same level as Hyunjin. 

“Jinnie, it’s going to be okay. Whatever is wrong, whatever is making you sad, we’ll work through it, okay?”

“It  _ hurts,”  _ Hyunjin said between sobs. “I’m going to lose her and it  _ hurts.”  _

Hyunjin realized his soulmate was probably connecting the dots. Soulmate. That’s what Felix was. The other half of his soul. If anyone could help him through this is would be Felix, so why couldn’t he just let him in?

Through the door, Felix shifted. Hyunjin heard him stand, and worried for a second that Felix was going to break the door down. 

That was what he wanted, right? For Felix to join him?  _ But if I get too attached, I’ll die too. Just like my auntie is going to. I’ll die and then I’ll be gone.  _

“I’ll be right back, Hyunie, just please,  _ please, _ stay safe for a few more minutes, okay?”  _ He’s leaving me? Already?  _ Hyunjin felt his breath stutter in his chest, and he’s pretty sure his heart wasn’t supposed to seize up that way.  _ He doesn’t love me. He doesn’t love me. He doesn’t love me. I’m going to die alone. Felix abandoned me and it’s my fault because I can’t even go to him when I need help. I’m going to die- _

“Hyunjin I’m back. Speak to me, baby, tell me you’re still here.” Hyunjin tried, really he did, to form coherent words, but all that could escape his mouth was a sob. A deep, soul-wrenching sob that he tried to hold back, but couldn’t. He heard nothing through the door, then suddenly a soft knock broke through his cries.

Tentatively, he reached his hand up, sniffling as he did so, and knocked in the same place.

“There you are,” Hyunjin heard Felix say. Maybe it was the way he said it, or maybe it was just because it was Felix, but he knew the other boy would have that stupid smile on his face. The one he looked at Hyunjin with when they first woke up together, the first time Hyunjin said “I love you”, the time Hyunjin invited Felix to live with him. It was the smile that told Hyunjin he was the most important thing in Felix’s life, but that couldn’t be true. He couldn’t be the most important thing to Felix because he was… him. 

“Jinnie, I know you’re in there, beating yourself up, but whatever happened, you had no control over it, okay? This is not your fault, and I’m going to be here with you every step of the way until you feel comfortable again.” Hyunjin leaned against the door, pressing his full weight against it, and he felt the comfort he had been missing practically ooze through the door and to him. 

“Promise?” He asked, and hed a light crinkle on the other side of the door before his mouth filled with peppermint. His eyes widened when he realized what the other had done. 

For the longest time, one of Felix and Hyunjin’s largest arguments was over peppermints versus butterscotches. While Hyunjin could tolerate butterscotch, there was something oddly soothing to the cool sting the mints would give him. Felix hated peppermints. He preferred the warmer flavor that the butterscotch had. 

But there he was, carefully sucking on the mint and making sure the flavor covered every bit of his mouth that it could. For Hyunjin. 

“I promise,” Felix replied. Hyunjin wanted to open the door. For who knows how many times in the last ten minutes, he tried. He wanted to get to Felix. He wanted to be held. 

Then, by some miracle, it opened. He fell against the door and it swung before hitting Felix, who had been sitting directly across from Hyunjin on the other side of the door. Hyunjin crawled into Felix’s arms, he felt a fresh wave of tears wash over him, but he felt safer than he had in a long time. 

Sitting there, wrapped in his soulmate, the taste of peppermint lingering on his tongue he felt overwhelmed. He felt so loved. So safe. The only thing he could think to say at that moment, inf act, the only thing it seemed he  _ could  _ say, was a whispered “I love you.” It was his mantra. He needed to make sure that Felix knew. Knew that he was loved. That he wouldn’t leave him and that he would stay with him until Felix didn’t want him there. But all he could say were those same three words. 

But It didn’t seem to matter. Felix simply hushed him, ran a hand through his hair, and responded to every “I love you,” with his own, “I know, I love you too.”

And that was enough. 

**Author's Note:**

> AYEEEE it's me again! This is a fic that I promised to [Elle](twitter.com/halfmoonjisung) because she helped me get the vote I wanted for a pole on twt, but I was hoping to get this out eventually (she just advanced my schedule for it!)
> 
> Anyways... welcome to my first ever sequel! I hope if you read this, you also got to check out the Minchan AU that I had posted earlier this year for this universe, but if not then I hope you at least enjoyed this one! I really enjoyed writing this story (I cranked it out in a day, if that tells you anything) and I'm glad to get to share it with you all!
> 
> Like always, comments and kudos are appreciated! I'll hopefully see y'all later this week! Thank you again for reading, and Merry Christmas <3 
> 
> (PS you can follow me on [twt](https://twitter.com/2minlix) for more updates on content... maybe)


End file.
